The Irish Catholic Bishops have seen fit to clarify the church’s view on gynecology given Savita Halappanavar’s death from sepsis at 17 weeks in her pregnancy and the concern that evacuating her uterus was delayed because the fetus still had a heart beat. The full statement is here, but this is the excerpt I find …
Author Archives: Dr. Jen Gunter
How sick must a pregnant woman be in Ireland for her doctor to say her life is at risk?
While a full analysis of the tragic case of Savita Halappanavar’s death from sepsis at 17 weeks in her pregnancy is not possible without access to her medical records, there is a key piece of information provided by her husband that supports his claim that a termination was not allowed or was delayed because of …
The panel investigating Savita Halappanavar’s death must change and why
The Irish Health Service Executive has appointed a 7 member panel to investigate Savita Halappanavar’s death from sepsis at 17 weeks in her pregnancy. The problem? There is only one international expert and three of the doctors on the panel work at Galway, the hospital where she died. Her widower is understandably upset and has …
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Did Irish Catholic law or malpractice kill Savita Halappanavar?
This is what is known. Savita Halappanavar was 31 years old and happy to be pregnant with her first child. Then, at 17 weeks, tragedy struck and she was “found to be miscarrying.” Her husband reports that she was in “severe pain” for three days at the hospital and a termination was requested. He says …
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A study rating female attractiveness: the journal Fertility and Sterility publishes misogyny
I believe in science. I believe in the scientific method. I do not believe in medical studies that have doctors rate a woman’s attractiveness. The title, so obscene I can barely type it, is: Attractiveness of women with rectovaginal endometriosis: a case-control study (Fertility Sterility, September 2012). The main outcome measure? A graded attractiveness scale. …
My urine culture is negative, can I still have a bladder infection?
In a word, yes. And this is a difficult concept for many doctors to get because we have long been taught that the gold standard is culture. Let’s back up a little. These are the symptoms of a bladder infection: needing to empty your bladder a lot (urinary frequency) when you gotta go, you gotta …
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Can I get tested for a bladder infection while taking Azo? (phenazopyridine)
Approximately 12% of women report a bladder infection each year and 50% of women will have had a bladder infection by the age of 32. The burning can be hell, so many women take Azo (also called Pyridium or phenazopyridine ), a medication that helps bladder pain. The problem? There is a medical myth that …
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Vaginal wind – what’s the cause of queefing?
As a pelvic floor and vaginitis expert I am referred several patients a year who have concerns about excessive vaginal wind. It is unknown how many women have this concern as many don’t discuss it out of embarrassment. Physical manipulation causes air to move in and out of the vagina (for example with intercourse or with …
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Persistent pain after a c-section: when is it muscle pain and what can you do?
I am really surprised by the number of hits I get from people trying to find out more about chronic pain post c-section. Although I suppose I shouldn’t be, because I see women with chronic pain every day and it takes years for most to get an answer (i.e. they don’t get an answer until …
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Anatomy of an unsafe abortion
I was in clinic when I heard the overhead STAT page to the emergency room. As I sprinted down the stairs, I ran through the possible scenarios. I wasn’t on call, so the day to day gynecologic emergencies weren’t my purview. I hadn’t operated on anyone in the past few weeks, so unlikely to be …
Dr. Jen Gunter 